A plot set in Cornwall that was entirely unique to me. It was absolutely a page turner and kept me on my toes till the final page.

I have read and loved all of Helen Callaghan’s books and this one is certainly no exception. They are based around a different theme, which have obviously well researched because they are all convincingly knowledgeable.

The way Helen writes such beautiful description, makes me pause and take a moment. It brings the scenes to life without it feeling heavily overladen, it just works brilliantly.

Cass and Sid couldn’t be more different, Cass being strong and independent whilst Sid appears weak, easily influenced and suffering from some kind of mental illness. The additional characters were well-structured and add depth to the network of people surrounding the girls and I found myself changing my opinions about each, as the plot develops.

I was totally enthralled by the thrilling dive scenes and could imagine the story happening as if I was a bystander, feeling the tension mounting.

The plot itself involves missing girls amongst other mysteries, whilst adding unique, dark twists with a fast pace. No plot spoilers here, this is a great psychological thriller.

After their Father died, Cass & Sid ran the dive school in Cornwall. Cass goes away for a job in Australia, studying sharks. But Covid strikes & this has a drastic impact on the dive school. When Cass returns she finds the school hanging on by its fingernails, her sister a pale downtrodden shadow & Sid's boyfriend seems to be running the show. One of the popular places to dive was on a wreak, this still brings in some punters. No sooner is she back than she is asked to lead a dive there. She is uneasy as that is where her father had his fatal accident. Also she isn't happy with the diver/tutor ratio. As a result one of the men decides to ignore instructions, going to a dangerous part of the wreak. When Cass goes searching she finds the body of a young girl who had been reported missing.

This was a fascinating & gripping read. The descriptions of the underwater world & the mechanics of the dive were fascinating, I felt I was there with Cass. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book- I loved it!

The premise and storyline is great!

I loved reading about the dives in the wreck and the descriptions were brilliantly written.

Cass, Jimmy and Erik were well developed characters, I did feel that Sid and Adam needed a bit more depth to them.

I did feel it was fairly obvious who the killer was, quite early on in the book and was actually expecting a big twist that would prove me wrong, but I called it correctly!

Still a brilliant read though and a bit different to the usual domestic thrillers.

4 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Helen Callaghan and Penguin for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Thanks to netgalley for supplying this advanced copy for the purpose of review.

This was an absorbing read which kept me hooked from start to finish.

I was drawn into this book right from the outset. It has a punchy first chapter which hints at the intrigue which is to follow.

I liked the way in which Helen Callaghan develops the characters. This is a fast paced novel which is centred around Cass and her sister, who are struggling to save their failing dive business.

There are sufficient red herrings to keep the book interesting until a dramatic conclusion.

I give my thanks to Netgalley and Penguin, Random House (Michael Joseph) for a copy in exchange for this review.

There are lots of threads to this story and not all of them play a very important role. I think some lines of plot could hav3 be3n left out without much of a difference. There were things I found very predictable and too much information on diving for my liking but a fair bit of drama so not a bad read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Michael Joseph for my copy of The Drowning Girls by Helen Callaghan.
A good read with an exciting ending, just a bit too much emphasis on the diving technicalities for me.

The Drowning Girls was an interesting and addictive read. It had me on the edge of my seat throughout with its many twists and turns. As a diver I enjoyed that element of the book and the fact that some of the story took place underwater. I really enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC.

Unfortunately I didn't love this one. I found it super predictable and I found myself losing interest often too which is a shame really because really liked the premise. I didn't connect with any of the characters and wasn't really interested in any of them either.
Thank you to netgalley for providing me a copy of this book

I would like to thank Netgalley and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House for an advance copy of The Drowning Girls, a stand-alone thriller set in Cornwall.

When Cass returns from working in Australia she finds the dive school her recently deceased father founded in a mess. It is no longer the premier dive school in Cornwall, the finances are in a bad position and her sister, Sid, has given her boyfriend, Adam, too much control over both her and the business. Then, on her first dive back she finds a body and not that of the missing tourist.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Drowning Girls, which is a tense, event filled read with several twists and turns. I must admit that I didn’t find the diving details very interesting, but the story is well enough done to make me want to search out the author’s other works, hopefully set in a more congenial location.

The novel is mostly told from Cass’s point of view with the odd description of the kidnapping of other women told from their experience. These kidnappings are a background to the body in the wreck and provide mystery and a sense of menace to the reader. It’s an extra frisson that strictly speaking adds little to the plot but atmosphere. I’m not sure what to say about Cass. She’s highly strung and tends to overreact, jumping to conclusions without definitive proof and obsessing about Adam and his controlling behaviour. Probably pretty much like how many of us would react, but we’re in fiction land so I would have liked to see more measured thought as she’s a scientist and supposedly logical. I found her not quite unlikeable, but certainly annoying.

I found the plot to be compulsive reading. Obviously there is the mystery of the body on the wreck, the who, why, how of the murderer and the identity of the victim. This is very well done with a gradual release of information and strategic reveals culminating in an exciting underwater showdown with so many twists I lost count. Alongside this there is the drama of the failing business and the clash between the submissive to Adam Sid and the rather histrionic Cass, who can’t fail to see that there is something seriously amiss. There are surprises in this narrative as well. The author has a way of drawing the reader in and not letting go.

The Drowning Girls is a good read that I have no hesitation in recommending.

This will keep you on edge until the end! Really tense with a variety of characters who move into the light and just when you think you’ve nailed them it all shifts again. A very talented author and one that will keep you going back to. Looking forward to her next book already!

This book follows the storylines of Cass and Sid and the events Following their fathers unexpected death. Cass leaves to go on her work secondment in Australia and Sid is left to run the family's driving school in Cornwall.

Cass's trip gets extended due to events of the pandemic keeping her in Australia longer than she thought that she would be there. When she returns she realises everything has changed. Sid is a shell of herself and her controlling boyfriend Adam has taken over everything. There is also a storyline of a missing woman in the book too that you have to work out what has happened to.

I did work out the ended before it happened. But it was still good.

This was a good read but unfortunately I found it so predictable and I was not invested in the main characters Cass who decides to play amateur sleughth. You just know that something bad is going to happen and of course it does. Still a good read but nothing to get my heart racing.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the Arc in return for an honest review.

What a journey this book has twists and turns galore. I got the killer wrong but loved the fact that I did.. I seriously didn't want to put it down, well crafted, great characters and brilliantly described. 5 stars from me. Thank you netgalley for the advance copy

I did not see the unmasking of the murderer coming!! The book dealt well with a controlling partner and how they operate and the plot itself was well written. The descriptions of the dives helped me imagine the settings and I had to keep reading to see if any of the abducted were found. There were twists, but I was certain I knew who was abducting the women.....I was completely wrong!!

Full of suspense, keeps you guessing right to the very end. Well crafted story that is a real page turner.

Wow, this book was incredible. So much so I did not put it down and tried to race to the end just to know who the culprit was. This was such an easy read for me and kept pulling me in. I just needed to know what happens at the end and finished it within one sitting.

I thought this book was going to have the usual crime/who done it story line. But this book definitely delivered.

Cass & Sid are sisters who run their fathers diving school, so a lot of this book takes place in and around water/shipwrecks. Their father had died a couple of years ago and Cass goes off to Australia with the thought the dive school is in safe hands.

Cass is shocked when she comes back and neither the dive school or her sister are how they where before she left.
With that girls who have gone missing, Cass has many questions she is determined to find the answers.

I am now going to look at this Author's other work as I now want more

Wow wow wow, what a fab book. I devoured this and needed to race to the end to find out the culprit.

Cass returns from Australlia to chaos at the dive school that her and her sister are now in charge of after the tragic death of their father.

Unexplained deaths, women going missing and a famous wreck becoming too dangerous to dive, the odds are stacked against them but Cass must get to the truth or their business will be a failure.

Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for this arc

Following the unexpected death of their father, Cass leaves for a prearranged secondment opportunity in Australia, leaving her sister Sid (Cressida) to run their family's diving school and shop in Cornwall. Returning considerably later, the pandemic having intervened, Cass finds things aren't quite as she left them. Her sister's boyfriend Adam seems to be controlling everything, including her sister; Sid herself is a shadow of her former self. Meanwhile, young women are going missing...

I liked Cass's character, and this was an engaging and intriguing read with plenty of local colour. I did guess the outcome to some extent, but it didn't spoil my enjoyment.

There's a lot of scuba diving in the book and a fair few scenes take place underwater, in and around a wrecked ship, the Undine. I don't really know anything about scuba diving, nor am I that interested in finding out, but it was a great read nevertheless and the diving scenes are atmospherically written.

Thanks for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy!